


Lover, when I sing my song

by dearericbittle (dutchmoxie)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 80's Movies, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Fluff, M/M, Music, POV Stiles Stilinski, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Gestures, Stiles Stilinski is a Nice Thing, The Hale Family (Teen Wolf) Lives, Wooing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25594642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dutchmoxie/pseuds/dearericbittle
Summary: Derek Hale totally deserves to be wooed. He deserves only the biggest and best of romantic gestures. So naturally, Stiles is going to need a boombox.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 46
Kudos: 445
Collections: A Very Sterek Summer fest 2020





	Lover, when I sing my song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Night_jade14](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_jade14/gifts).



> For day 4 of A Very Sterek Summer: Summer Songs.  
> This is unrepentant fluff. And I'm not sorry.  
> Shae, I hope this makes things better for you, that's all <3

It was the third movie in their annual rom com movie marathon that finally gave Stiles the perfect idea on how to woo the incredible Derek Hale. While Clueless and Mean Girls had been extremely enjoyable, just like they usually were, they didn’t really help with the whole wooing thing. So Scott had turned on Say Anything, instead of choosing a movie they’d seen before. 

And when they got to the scene Stiles had seen imitations of in thousands of places by now, it suddenly clicked. When John Cusack lifted that boombox over his head outside of Ione Skye’s window, Stiles was pretty sure his heart actually stopped. 

“That’s it,” he gasped. “Scott, that’s it! I’ve figured out how I’ll woo Derek.” 

Scott, unfortunately, was not particularly impressed. Because for some reason, he still hated Derek for telling on them for some stupid high school shenanigans. Scott and Stiles had gotten detention and it had made Allison’s parents think that Scott was a bad influence and should not be allowed to date their precious daughter. Sure, that had not had the effect they wanted it to have, because Scott and Allison continued to date in secret, but even after ten years, Scott still blamed Derek for something that had only tangentially been his fault. 

Because rivalries born in high school didn’t just die in high school. Scott took them with him to college, and now that they were all back in Beacon Hills, he continued to think that Derek was beneath Stiles. When honestly? Derek Hale was an honest to God gift and Stiles wanted to keep him forever. No refunds, no take backs. 

“No,” Scott vetoed it right away. 

“But Scott,” Stiles pouted. “It’s not like I’ll actually have to sing. I mean, I could, for the more personal touch, but I’m not the greatest singer. Unless I’m wasted. Should I get wasted first?” 

He sounded pretty great after a few beers - even better after a few cocktails. He’d done karaoke at Jungle too many times for Scott not to be aware of that by now. And Derek was worth the hangover in the morning. Because Derek was amazing, and Stiles had to show him that he deserved romance and a proper wooing. He deserved better than random people just coming up to him and asking if he wanted to fuck. 

Where was the romance? Derek deserved romance! And Stiles would give it to him, one romantic gesture at a time. The serenade was totally just the start of this. 

“Stiles, no,” Scott said, trying to chide him. 

“Stiles, yes,” he responded, because Scott had given him the opening for that one. 

This was the basis of their entire friendship, and had been for almost fifteen years now, ever since Scott moved to town after he came to live with his Mom. Stiles had a bunch of awesome ideas and Scott pretended not to realize just how awesome they were at first, and then he usually ended up going along with it anyway. Because Stiles had awesome ideas. 

And Scott wasn’t exactly offering up any better ideas. 

“I’m serious about this, dude,” Scott apparently wasn’t going to enjoy that joke, not even for a second. “Don’t get wasted. Don’t sing for Derek. He will rip your throat out with his teeth. Also! You don’t have a boombox - no one has a boombox these days. And what if he hates it?” 

The movie kept playing, and the whole boombox gambit definitely turned out awesome for John Cusack. So, point Stiles, and zero points for Scott. Because if John Cusack could show Ione Skye that he wasn’t giving up on her - and it showed her that he was worth it - then, well… Stiles could totally show Derek that he was super into him and he wasn’t going to give up on their romantic potential. Except there was no criminal father in this version of the story. 

“How can he say no to all of this?” Stiles motioned to himself. “Don’t know how to say no to this. How can he say no to this? And all that Hamilton stuff.” 

That song was definitely going to be stuck in his head later, even though it probably should have been the Peter Gabriel song instead. But by now Stiles was pretty used to his brain never doing the usual thing. So he allowed himself the Hamilton song, even though it wasn’t nearly as romantic as the song from the movie. It was actually anything but romantic. Not the point. 

“Sure,” Scott tried to appease as he got up to put the next movie in. 

Of course he’d chosen Sixteen Candles, because Scott loved those adorable eighties movies that never actually got all that gritty. Just all soft and supposedly like the authentic teenage experience - and while Stiles loved the Breakfast Club, he would have preferred watching Some Kind of Wonderful over Sixteen Candles. And Scott knew this, and didn’t care, because he loved anything that involved Molly Ringwald in soft colors. 

Apparently those movies reminded him of the best parts of being with Allison. Stiles was not going to say anything about it. Not even though he knew that Kira Yukimura had a massive crush on Scott and he just had to pull his head out of his ass. Because honestly? Scott had to realize Kira’s awesomeness on his own - because she deserved that much. 

Stiles zoned out during most of Sixteen Candles, searching eBay for a working boombox and contemplating which Beach Boys song he needed to use to serenade Derek. Derek loved the Beach Boys, or so Stiles had found out from Deputy Hale (Derek’s twin sister, Laura), and while God Only Knows was the obvious choice, Stiles thought that Wouldn’t It Be Nice was the superior choice to try and woo a most likely reluctant Derek Hale. 

And if he was already going to be spending upwards of a hundred dollars trying to get a working boombox off eBay, he didn’t want to ruin it by picking the wrong song. 

“See, Stiles, you could do this instead,” Scott sighed happily as Samantha’s family drove away from the church only to reveal Jake Ryan and his ridiculous red car. “Way less embarrassing.” 

Scott had already forgotten the embarrassment that Samantha had to go through, and the misunderstandings, and the stupid high school politics, and the creepiness of the freshman idiots being given a passed out teenage girl to do with as they pleased. He’d already forgotten about the racism related to Dong. He’d forgotten about anything except for the happy ending, because Samantha had finally gotten her hot senior boyfriend. 

For Scott, it was just that simple. He wanted the happy ending, and that was all that mattered. 

“Except Laura isn’t getting married,” Stiles wondered why he had to point that out to Scott. “And the Hales aren’t likely to go to church for any other reason. And waiting for Derek in a random public place is going to reek of stalking, Scott. I can’t have another restraining order. My Dad would kill me. He’s just now gotten over Jackson’s, since he’s not renewing it anymore.” 

Not that Stiles was ever going to remind his Dad of how that had happened, and how Jackson had been a filthy liar who’d been high on something or other and had attempted to attack anyone who got too close to him. Stiles had been brave enough to lock him up, and he’d been punished for it. Super unfair, but apparently Stiles’ opinion didn’t matter when it came to Jackson fucking Whittemore and his asshole Dad and their asshole friends. At least the restraining order wasn’t actually active anymore. 

Still, having it look like he’d stalked Derek Hale? Terrible idea. 

“That wasn’t your fault,” at least Scott was loyal enough to say that. 

“Everyone knows that,” Stiles shrugged, while preparing to start the next movie. 

It was his turn to choose, and as revenge for Scott’s ridiculous stuff, Stiles was going full on feminist with an added serenade bonus. Plus, young Heath Ledger. And Shakespeare. 

“Oh, this again?” Scott sighed heavily as soon as the Barenaked Ladies started playing. 

“It’s a damn classic, Scotty,” Stiles was ready to list 10 things he loved about this movie. 

Scott cut him off with a pillow to the face, right when Bad Reputation started playing. 

* * *

The boombox was finicky, and a lot heavier than Stiles had been anticipating - shit, maybe he should have worked up to this, holding it up for ages and ages. He should have gone to the gym and accidentally run into Derek while he was there. Because someone who looked like Derek had to have a gym membership of some kind. Because damn. 

It bore repeating.  _ Damn _ . 

Not that Stiles was the kind of superficial asshole who only cared about Derek’s ridiculous physique. No, Stiles was the kind of guy who cared about the way Derek was protective of his family, of his twin sister - even though Stiles had seen her put a dude twice her size on his knees within a matter of seconds. And the guy had been on PCP at the time, ranting and raving and dangerously violent. But little Laura Hale (she was going to kill him for ever even daring to refer to her like that, even if it was just inside his head) didn’t even break a sweat while taking him down. She didn’t have a single mark on her afterwards. 

Derek had fussed over her angrily, though, because he was obviously worried about her. He’d been checking her over and staring into her eyes so fiercely that Stiles had to excuse himself to somewhere private, because damn Derek was so intense. 

As someone who was usually thought of as being ‘too much’ Stiles loved seeing that about Derek. He handled the groceries for his granny and babysat his young cousins - probably trying to give them a good influence because their father (Derek’s uncle Peter) was just… Well, there was something about him that made all the hair at the back of Stiles’ neck stand up. 

Not the point, though. Because most of Derek’s family seemed lovely, even though they didn’t really get close to a lot of other families in town, and Derek cared for them all. He possessed the kind of loyalty that Stiles would love for Derek to feel about him. 

Plus, the subtle sense of humor that Stiles had been pretty much dying over. 

Anyway, so, he found himself in front of the Hale house on a Friday night in early June. The moon was full and bright, helping light the way to the remote mansion. 

Yes, it was totally a mansion, big enough for the entire extended Hale family to live there - and most of them did. Did Stiles think it was odd that twenty-six year old Derek still lived with his parents? Absolutely, though he found it kind of charming as well. 

He’d always wanted a big family, and he hated living alone. 

“Alright,” Stiles muttered to himself. “Showtime.” 

With the help of some research, and some none too subtle questions directed at Laura, Stiles had managed to figure out that Derek’s window was on the second floor, all the way on the other end from the front door. Which was probably a good thing, because it allowed him to be a little more subtle about his approach. And it made it less likely that Derek or one of the more terrifying family members could run him off before Stiles had gotten back to his Jeep safely. 

(Fingers crossed Roscoe was going to start on the first go, though.)

“Laura said it was the one on the left,” Stiles had to keep talking to himself, because this was kind of nerve-wracking and he risked a lot by doing this. “It’s not that late, so he’ll be awake.” 

It was kind of weird that he couldn’t see if Derek was actually in his room, but it was getting a bit late, and very dark, and it was possible that Derek was already sleeping. Did that make Stiles an asshole, for purposefully waiting until it was completely dark outside? Because it was terrifying to do this in the light of day, where everyone could tell who it was. 

He just really didn’t want Talia Hale to spot him right away. He was very rightfully terrified of her, because while she was the epitome of the ‘females are strong as hell’ meme, there was also something about her that made Stiles wonder if she wasn’t just as creepy as her younger brother, and she just managed to hide it a whole lot better. Most of the older Hales gave him that feeling, but Stiles was determined not to let that scare him off Derek. 

So he fiddled with the boombox some more, making sure that the cassette hadn’t magically unspooled in the mere minutes he’d spent trying to find the perfect spot under Derek’s window. It hadn’t, and so Stiles tried to set the volume to a reasonable level before pressing play. 

The intro started off so calm, so Stiles twitched and flinched a little in surprise when the drums suddenly kicked in and the song started properly. The sound echoed throughout the Preserve, and Stiles could have sworn he’d heard the howl of a wolf before everything went eerily silent - barring the song of course. That continued to sound out, cheery and romantic. 

When no one came to the window after the first minute or so, Stiles dared to turn up the volume, while still attempting to hold the boombox over his head. 

No response. Not even when Stiles turned it up to the max for the ‘we could be married’ part, letting the Beach Boys sound out and promise to Derek that they could be happy, and tell him how nice that would be. If he could hear, if he would only wake up. 

So Stiles, against his better wishes, started to sing along to the song as well, pleading and begging for Derek to see him and hear him and maybe even give it a try. To let himself be wooed and courted and appreciated like he always should have been. Like all of his previous lovers had failed to do, and like Stiles was able to do so easily. 

It would have been impossible not to appreciate the glory of Derek Hale. 

Even though Stiles was getting more than a little disheartened as the song finished its second play, and the third started from the top. He’d recorded it several times in a row, both the A and the B side of the cassette. Because that way he didn’t have to deal with any rewinding, and he just had to let it play until Derek opened his window only to see Stiles there waiting for him, giving him something special. Making a grand gesture, the kind Derek deserved. 

“Is that you there, Mieczyslaw?” A croak of a voice from the other side of the house. 

Granny. That was Granny, as she was known to all of the kids who’d used the Preserve as their playground as children - and as teens. So basically just to Stiles, the only person who was crazy enough to risk mountain lions and other mythical monsters to play in acres and acres of woods, to climb trees and grow scared and be stuck up there until one of the Hales managed to find him and help him down. They always found him, even though it was never the same tree twice. 

Stiles was pretty sure that they had cameras hidden somewhere. That or his Dad hadn’t actually been joking when he told him that he’d chipped him to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. 

“Granny,” Stiles stammered, embarrassed. 

“So you haven’t forgotten me,” the old woman sounded pleased. “Now, will you turn off that racket and come say hello to a lonely old lady?” 

Of course Stiles turned the music off immediately, because he was a terrible person who’d woken a kind and mischievous old lady in the middle of the night (okay it wasn’t actually the middle of the night, but still). While the rest of the house slept, apparently. Clearly the deaf old lady trope didn’t know shit about Granny Hale. 

He stumbled and tripped his way to the front door, vaguely remembering that Granny had a suite on the ground floor all to herself. Those rooms used to be familiar to him, at least until he went to college and upon his return found that the Hales had mostly withdrawn from interaction with the rest of Beacon Hills. Even more so than they’d done before. 

Besides, Stiles was pretty sure that he’d grown too old to be helped out of trees, and too old for Granny’s silly gifts. Though he doubted anyone would ever be too old for her baked goods. 

“Are you lonely, Granny?” Stiles asked, his heart going out to her. 

His  _ Babcia _ had never been all that close to the Stilinskis, especially not after Claudia died. So Granny Hale was the closest thing Stiles ever got to that stereotypical grandmother figure who gave out treats like Stiles would fall apart without them, and told him scary stories when Stiles told her he was too old for boring kids books like the Cat in the Hat. She told him about werewolves and mages she called Druids, and sometimes she even mentioned creatures that Stiles was pretty sure only existed in Granny’s imagination. Not even in any books. 

Who’d ever even heard of a kanima?

“They all went out,” the lovely old lady croaked, putting a withered hand to her heart. “And they left this old lady behind. I wasn’t feeling well, you see.” 

She played the fragile old lady card far too well still, Stiles knew that much. 

There was nothing about Granny Hale that was actually fragile. Even at her advanced age (she was approaching eighty-five quite rapidly) she was every bit as strong as she’d been when Stiles had been a motherless child, grieving by scratching at moss and throwing rocks and screaming at the top of his lungs. She’d aged, sure, but she was just as lively and charming as she’d been back then. Just with a few more wrinkles. 

And she had the same appetite for mischief as well. Stiles was sure of it, from the glint in her eye that was visible even in the moonlight. The light from the hallway gave her an almost ethereal glow, but Stiles knew very well how much of a sly devil Granny could be. 

“Is there anything I can do?” Stiles started firing questions at her. “Do you still feel bad? What’s wrong? Is it a headache or something else? You used to get those headaches.” 

The headaches were not real. They never had been. It was something she’d told her kids and grandkids when she was too busy talking to Stiles to interact with her family. It was her way of showing Stiles that she preferred telling him tales of wolves saving humans than having to have a fancy dinner with the mayor or whichever important guest had shown up. 

The Hales had a lot of important guests back then. Did they still? 

“A headache, yes,” Granny was laughing now. “You clever boy. You remembered.” 

But she hadn’t known that Stiles was going to come here, had she? She hadn’t known about this masterplan of his. How could she have known? Unless Scott had blabbed, and Stiles was pretty damn sure that if Scott started revealing all of his secrets, he was not going to go to Granny Hale with them. Because Scott didn’t know anything significant about the Hale family, even though he’d been around when they still went into town from time to time. 

Still, Granny Hale was just one of Stiles’ well-kept secrets. 

“I remember everything,” Stiles boasted, because it was mostly true. 

“Of course you do,” Granny actually indulged him there. “However, you didn’t just come here to talk to old Granny again, did you? You didn’t drag that thing along for me.” 

Great, this was the embarrassment portion of the conversation. Stiles was not ready, because he didn’t want to spoil the surprise for Derek, and because he didn’t want Granny to tell him that it was no use. That Derek was never going to be interested in someone like him. 

“I didn’t,” Stiles started, trying to come up with something that didn’t trip Granny’s intrinsic lie detector. “I came here for a romantic gesture. A serenade. Not that I was going to sing, because I would never want to do that to anyone, unless everyone is drunk. I sound awesome when I’m drunk. I kick ass at karaoke. But I’m not drunk now. I’m just… Being John Cusack.” 

Granny was nodding along like she knew exactly what he was talking about, which was both surprising and something that made complete sense. Because of course Granny had seen a ton of movies in her lifetime, and of course she’d actually been around when the movie was released. But it was a teen movie, and Granny had already had grown children back then, too old to need their mother to go to the movie theater with them. 

But really, did it matter why and how she’d seen it? It mattered that she got it. 

“My grandson isn’t at home tonight, Mischief,” Granny was far too clever for her own good - always had been too. “As you might have guessed. I’m sure he’d appreciate this a lot more if you came back tomorrow. I promise not to let him run off this time.” 

Of course she immediately knew who he wanted to woo, even though they hadn’t properly talked in ages and Stiles tried not to make his romantic feelings known to people anymore. Because it had just been embarrassing when the entire town couldn’t see past his embarrassing crush on Lydia Martin that he’d clung to for far too long. And because the entire town knew, it took years for them to stop talking about how sad it was that the Martin girl had moved so far away and how the poor Stilinski boy didn’t stand a chance. 

It was beyond embarrassing to hear that from random people at the grocery store. 

“Granny,” Stiles tried to hide his flushed cheeks. 

“You’re a good boy, Mieczyslaw,” Granny was clearly not letting this go. “My Derek could use a good boy like you in his life. So come back tomorrow, with that thing. He likes that song.” 

So this was Granny’s seal of approval? He certainly hadn’t been expecting that, but he appreciated it more than she could ever know. Because Scott was the only one who knew about his plans, and Scott was never going to approve because he was stubbornly holding on to that old grudge. So to have someone on his side? And to have that someone be someone who knew Derek very well and cared for him? That was everything he could hope for. 

Not including the whole, Derek not being opposed to his wooing. 

“I’ll be back,” Stiles nodded emphatically. “Please don’t tell him. I want it to be a surprise. Derek deserves a nice surprise. He deserves all the nice things. I’m going to woo him, Granny. Like he deserves to be wooed. Clearly people are idiots if no one has done this for him.” 

Granny seemed to agree with that, as she sent Stiles off with a smile on her weathered face, white teeth gleaming in the light of the full moon. 

* * *

Stiles totally canceled his Saturday night plans with Scott to come back to the Hale house. Sure, his best friend had been none too happy that Derek was already getting in between their friendship traditions - the same traditions that were so easily abandoned when Scott dated Allison, or even when he got together with Stiles’ ex-girlfriend. 

But Stiles wasn’t trying to dump on Scott here. He was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t an awful best friend for going after a guy instead of spending time with Scott. 

So far, he’d done pretty well. 

Because there must have been a reason that Granny had told him to come back the next night. 

“Take two,” Stiles muttered to himself. 

He once again trudged through the gardens, trying to be quiet and subtle while he made his way to Derek’s window. The boombox seemed heavier than it had been the night before - perhaps because this time he knew that Derek would be around to hear his courting song. Because he knew that Granny was expecting him and he didn’t want to let her down. But mostly because he knew what to do and it had been easier when it had been an impulse. 

Not that he hadn’t planned this. He had. A little. Okay, so he’d gotten excited when the boombox arrived and he’d managed to get the cassette ready, and he’d just left. So, yeah. 

“Game time,” he whispered before pressing play. 

The song’s intro was exactly the same, and even though he totally knew what would happen, he was still startled when the drums kicked in. Still, he clung to the boombox tightly as the song continued, echoing ominously throughout the Preserve. Even though there was no howling this time, because apparently dogs were kept inside on Saturday nights. 

“Come on,” Stiles sighed as the first minute passed and nothing happened. “Come on.” 

Finally a light turned on. Then another, and another. He’d managed to wake half the family it seemed - or had Granny told them what to expect? 

The window opened, and Stiles pasted a smile onto his face because this was for Derek, and Granny had said that Derek was going to appreciate something like this. Or had she? Or had it just been about what she thought that her grandson deserved? Ugh, his brain was annoying. 

The smile got more and more wobbly when the person leaning out Derek’s window turned out to be decidedly female, and decidedly familiar. It was Erica Reyes, in her customary tight shirt and red lipstick combo, her pleased as punch look having that dangerous edge to it as always. Stiles could have sworn he’d heard that she was dating Vernon Boyd, but that wouldn’t be the first thing that the gossip mill had been wrong about. Clearly they’d been wrong. 

“Batman,” Erica laughed some more at the sight of him. “Terrible taste in music.” 

Clearly someone was playing a joke on him. Granny had either straight-up lied to him, or she didn’t approve of Erica and thought that Derek deserved to have options. It was nothing like Granny to be that openly manipulative, so… Had she lied? 

“Hey Stiles,” Laura pushed Erica aside slightly so she could butt in as well. “I see that the none too subtle questions weren’t subtle for a reason. What are your intentions?” 

Wait, why was Laura in Derek’s room? Had she gotten the truth out of Granny and managed to switch rooms with her twin for the night? But then, why was Erica there as well? No, it was starting to become very clear that he’d been the victim of a nasty little prank. He was never going to get to have his John Cusack moment - not for Derek, anyway. No, apparently he was meant to embarrass himself in front of Laura’s window. 

He’d be furious if he wasn’t so impressed by her ingenuity.

“Milady,” Stiles would have bowed if he hadn’t been holding the boombox. 

“Just turn it off, Stiles,” Laura sighed heavily, making a scene in front of her family. “Please.” 

There were multiple people staring at him now. Besides the giggling from Laura and her best friend, Stiles also had to deal with a seriously annoyed Cora Hale and her snarky scarf-wearing boyfriend, and with a stupidly gleeful smirk from Peter Hale, lurking from the third floor. It seemed like everyone who lived on this side of the house had shown up to stare at Stiles and enjoy the imminent rejection from Laura. Or just the result of her prank. 

Stiles just wished vehemently that Derek was all the way on the other side of the house. And that he was sleeping soundly, and wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. 

But no, he wasn’t even going to have that. So he finally turned the music off and gently put the boombox down on the ground. Because maybe he could sell it to someone else after this, even though his attempt clearly failed. Hard. And in front of Derek too. 

“Can you just put him out of his misery?” Derek finally made an appearance, grumpily leaning out of his own window - three windows down from Laura’s. “We both know you’re never going to be interested in him, even though he’s got way better taste in music than you do.” 

No! Now Derek thought that Stiles was only here to get with Laura. When honestly, Laura was not his favorite twin. Not by a long shot. Sure, she was delightful, funny and beautiful, and she did great work at the station, but she also pulled shit like this for no real reason other than just because she could. And she had the stupid misconception that Derek was a boring stick in the mud who couldn’t take a joke. And boy was she wrong about that. 

Except this really wasn’t the joke that she should have tried to use to make Derek laugh. This was straight-up sibling torture. And Stiles torture. 

Why did she think it was okay to use him to embarrass Derek? Because Derek was embarrassed, there was no doubt about that. Even from a distance, Stiles could totally tell that he was feeling awkward. He telegraphed that, brows saying more than a thousand words as he pulled at the tank he was wearing and dipped his chin. Now Stiles had dreams about that chin dip, but not like this. Not when it looked like Derek was using it to hide from him and everyone else, instead of his usual move. Which was looking all coy and flirtatious. 

Stiles could have sworn that look had been directed at him once or twice. 

“I’m sorry Stiles,” Laura wasn’t even pretending to be sad about it. 

“Do you not want me to court your brother?” Stiles had to ask, because well, he was only going to get one chance at this. “Is that it? Because Granny gave me her blessing last night.” 

That certainly seemed to surprise both Laura and Erica. Stiles couldn’t even look in Derek’s direction anymore, because he was terrified that he was going to look to the right and watch a look of disgust take over Derek’s gorgeous face. So he was just going to focus on the orchestrator of this madness: Laura Hale. And the disgusted look on her face, because apparently she couldn’t even imagine that Stiles legitimately wanted to court her brother, or that their grandmother would give Stiles their blessing. Well, she was wrong on both counts. 

“Peter, put the camera away,” Cora sounded angry as usual. “That’s just gross.” 

Stiles looked up at the third floor, only to see a stupidly professional camera aimed at him. He’d been expecting a cellphone, but no, of course Peter Hale had to be extra about it and bring out an actual fucking camera just to catch his embarrassment in high definition. Sometimes Stiles really wondered how Peter Hale had managed to nab that gorgeous wife of his. And she was nice too, the complete opposite of her creepy husband. 

Her creepy husband who still wasn’t putting the camera away for some reason. 

“This is a once in a lifetime moment,” Peter objected. “The Stilinski boy is actually attempting to court our poor Derek. At least he’s overt about it. Derek never would have gotten it if he’d tried to be subtle. Not that he got it now. As if the boy would go after Laura.” 

At least Peter Hale made a little bit of sense, seeming to have figured out Laura’s scheme almost right away. Because he’d probably taught her how to do stuff like this. Because he was the closest thing Beacon Hills had to an evil genius. 

“I’m very appealing,” Laura was actually a little offended, it seemed. 

“Meh, you’re okay,” the scarf-wearing boyfriend - who wasn’t actually wearing a scarf to bed - thought it was time to add his two cents. “But then again, I’m biased.” 

And with that, Cora and the boyfriend disappeared back into their room, closing the window behind them and leaving Stiles with a slightly smaller audience. But only slightly smaller, because there were still about half a dozen people trying to get a closer look at what was going on - there were noises coming from inside the house as well, and people leaning out from other sides, trying to catch a glimpse. Because this was a show to them. 

“Only a little,” Erica rolled her eyes. “Batman, this was some brave shit you just did. Extra as hell, but brave. Romantic. I should get Boyd to serenade me sometime. Only he can sing, so, no boombox required. Because this isn’t actually the eighties.” 

So the rumor mill had definitely been right about the Erica and Boyd thing. At least he’d gotten confirmation of that one. It sucked that was all he was going to get from this daring plan, but at least he’d gotten something out of it. That and a lot of determination that would inevitably result in payback for Laura. Because she more than deserved that. 

“Fuck you, I like the eighties,” a voice sounded from right next to him. 

Derek. That was definitely Derek. How the hell had Derek managed to get from his second floor bedroom to the garden without anyone noticing? Without Stiles noticing? And why would he do that? Just to reject Stiles in full view of the camera? 

Because of course Peter Hale still hadn’t gotten rid of the damn thing. 

“Derek,” Stiles said, trying not to gape like an idiot. 

“Stiles,” Derek was trying to keep a straight face - a blank face. “I hear you’re courting me.” 

Oh,  _ fuck _ . 

How was he going to find exactly the right words that got him out of this without crippling embarrassment? Because even though Derek’s face wasn’t as blank as he obviously wanted it to be, Stiles was pretty sure that there was no way that this was going to end in anything but a very public rejection. Because Stiles had embarrassed him in front of his family. 

It didn’t matter that it had happened in the name of romance. 

“Well, yeah,” Stiles was already tripping over his words. “Because I’m like, stupid into you, dude, and I didn’t think you were ever going to notice if I didn’t make some kind of romantic gesture. And also you deserve to be romanced and wooed, because you’re kind of ridiculously awesome and people don’t appreciate you enough. They think that just because your muscles have muscles, that you wouldn’t appreciate romance. But you do. You’re a romantic, Derek Hale.” 

Look, Stiles had a lot to say about this, okay? Because people were idiots who didn’t notice anything more than Derek’s ridiculous looks, forgetting that there was this big softy underneath who was a total Hufflepuff. Someone who mailed people actual physical birthday cards, and bought his mother flowers on her birthday. A big, giant, fluffy softy who was built like a truck, and who happened to love romance. Someone who didn’t exactly have the best experience with love, and who’d never gotten that romance that he obviously wanted. 

But then again, not everyone was able to read Derek Hale like Stiles could. 

Though, maybe the gesture itself was welcome, and the person not so much. That would suck. 

“I love that song,” Derek ducked his head again, and this time it was that coy and flirtatious look that Stiles was starting to recognize as being directed at him. “I like the Beach Boys. God Only Knows is a really good song, but this? I like this more.” 

This was a  _ lot _ , okay? Derek actually liked the song that Stiles had picked out. 

“It’s about growing old together,” Stiles was happy to talk music with Derek, even with half his family watching their every move. “It’s about the possibility of living happily ever after. God Only Knows is more of an anniversary song, or a first dance for our wedding.”

Our wedding? Did he really just say  _ our _ wedding?

Well, maybe they could look at the video later to find out. Stiles was pretty damn sure that was what he’d said, and Derek was undoubtedly going to make fun of him for it - but the video evidence was going to be truly damning. The kind of damning that meant that the entire Hale family got to joke about this until long after said hypothetical wedding. 

“Are you proposing to me?” Derek was actually grinning now. 

“That would be moving too fast, right?” Stiles was trying not to ruin this even more. “I know. Just a Freudian slip, I guess. But if you… Maybe… Do you want to go out with me sometime?” 

He’d managed to get that out with minor stammering, which was a victory in its own right, even if Derek shot him down. Though he was starting to see that Derek wasn’t actually going to shoot him down, seeing as he was still smiling and showing off the adorable bunny teeth that Stiles had swooned over more than once. He was doing all that and he was slowly but surely moving closer to Stiles, as if trying to hide him from his family’s gaze. And their comments. 

“Yes,” Derek simply said. 

Stiles needed a minute to take that in, and to gloat at least a little, if only to himself and to Laura, who was now gaping at the both of them from her window. Because clearly she had not expected that this would be the outcome of her almost harmless joke. 

“I’m going to buy you so many flowers,” Stiles was already plotting their first date, and the second and third. “And chocolates, because I know about your sweet tooth.” 

When Derek just smiled in response, blushing slightly, Stiles pumped his fist like he was in the final scene of The Breakfast Club. 

And went through his mental rom com rolodex to figure out another grand gesture. 

Because Derek deserved that. 


End file.
